1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf equipment, and more particularly to golf bag inserts for use in a variety of golf bags.
2) Background Art
In this era when the sport of golf predominates throughout every level of our society, golf equipment must be able to meet the desires and specifications of each individual golfer. Golf has become the primary recreational activity of many Americans: young and old; men and women; rich and middle class; and therefore, golf equipment must meet the individual needs of all these different consumers.
The golf industry has met these needs by providing equipment in every specification and price range. The most important equipment, golf clubs, have become a major investment for many, and are purchased to conform to the individual golfer's needs. With the ever increasing expense of golf clubs, the individual golfer demands appropriate protection for these valuable clubs. As the material composition of golf club shafts becomes lighter and stronger, but more susceptible to damage, the necessity for isolating each individual club from each other club takes on a greater importance than at any other time in golf history. While in a golf bag, each individual club must be treated as if it were the only club in the bag to eliminate damaging entanglements with other golf clubs. The golf club must also be prevented from any significant lateral movement to protect against damage from other clubs. The golf club must also be enclosed in the golf bag in a manner that will not damage the golf club's shaft and grip during retrieval and replacement of the club in the bag. And finally, the golf clubs must be positioned in an organized manner to effectuate location of the proper club for ease in retrieval and replacement without removal of excess clubs.
The golf industry has failed in their attempts to meet the problems associated with protecting expensive golf clubs with steel or graphite shafts in a simple, universal manner. Previously, some golf bags were partitioned in such a manner which isolated only the individual heads of golf clubs. Other golf bags were structured to provide full length dividers for golf clubs from the grip end to the head of the club. However, the singular concept of these golf bags was to provide retrieval and replacement ease which was not accomplished, and the singular concept of these golf bags failed to consider substantive ways in which to protect the individual golf club itself while maintaining good utilization of a defined space. These and other golf bag interior structures also failed to limit lateral movement and failed to efficiently utilize space and weight. Still others used individual round tubes for each golf club which resulted in excessively heavy golf bags and poor utilization of space.
Today's golfer demands protection for their clubs in a manner that not only isolates the individual golf clubs from each other, but stabilizes and protects the club while in the bag, prevents substantial lateral movement, does not significantly increase the weight of the golf bag, meets the individual golfer's arrangement methods, and provides ease of locating, retrieving and replacing golf clubs. Until the advent of the present invention, these demands were unsatisfied.